 "A Pakistan army soldier examines a building damaged during India's Operation Sindoor near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. AP")
In Operation Sindoor, the Indian Armed Forces targetted 21 locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), significantly more than the nine sites mentioned in the earlier media note, security officials said during a press briefing.
Col Sofiya Qureshi counter as many as 21 locations targeted in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which are, Sawai Nala, Syed Na Bilal, Maskar-e-Aqsa, Chelabandi, Abdullah bin Masood, Dulai, Garhi Habibullah, Batrasi, Balakot, Oghi, Boi, Senasa, Gulpur, Kotli, Barali, Dungi, Barnala, Mehmuna Joya, Sarjal, Muridke, and Bahawalpur.
Col. Sofiya Qureshi said, “No military installation was targeted, and till now there are no reports of civilian casualties in Pakistan.”
Earlier, the government said that, Indian armed forces launched missile strikes early Wednesday on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold in Bahawalpur and the Lashkar-e-Taiba base in Muridke.
These strikes were part of ‘Operation Sindoor’, which comes two weeks after the massacre of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
The defence ministry said in a statement at 1:44 am that the operation targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK, from where attacks against India have been planned and directed. The ministry added that the action was “focused, measured and non-escalatory” and clarified that no Pakistani military facilities had been targeted.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAccording to news agency PTI, the strikes on all targets, including Bahawalpur and Muridke, were successful. Prime Minister Narendra Modi closely monitored the operation.
Muridke, located near Lahore, is home to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) base, while Bahawalpur is a major stronghold of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Other targets like Kotli and Muzaffarabad are known for having LeT and JeM camps and training facilities.
The name ‘Operation Sindoor’ was chosen to symbolise the red vermillion Hindu women wear to signify their married status. The Pahalgam attack had left several women widowed, including the wife of an Indian Navy officer, further deepening the nation’s outrage.
The operation comes in response to the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack, which claimed the lives of 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen, the defence ministry said.